Winehouse boyfriend cleared of rape

The boyfriend of the late Amy Winehouse has spoken of his hell after being cleared of raping a woman who slept in his bed.

Reg Traviss, 35, was acquitted by a jury at Southwark Crown Court after less than three hours deliberation.

Leaving court he hit out at the authorities for not stopping "the train" of a very weak prosecution and said he hoped to fall in love again after losing the Back to Black singer in July last year.

The complainant alleged Traviss twice raped her at his central London flat after getting drunk together on December 30 last year. She said despite waking to find him attacking her she went back to bed with him to sleep but found him doing it again.

Today Mr Traviss said the police should have dropped the investigation after looking at CCTV that contradicted her version of events.

She told investigators she was so drunk she could not stand up. Footage showed her walking freely and unaided with Mr Traviss to get in a taxi to his flat.

He said: "I am really relieved, really relieved it's all over. I never did it. The last nine months or however long has been crazy. It feels like anyone can make a complaint and end up having their day in court.

"Being impartial, that's fair enough and I think it is right. I can understand why it's like that but in reality a train starts running and in this case the person who made the complaint wasn't investigated, the police didn't know anything about her."

The film director said the authorities did not want to stop "the train" of the prosecution for various reasons. He said he did not think "for one minute" that the police or Crown Prosecution Service thought he was guilty.

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